3 Top-Recruit Dems Opt Out of Challenging GOP Senators

In Colorado and Iowa, three Democrats thought to be top recruits to take on incumbent Republican senators have stated they’re not interested.

By NTK Staff | 02.25.2019 @9:19am

Democrats hoping to score big recruitment wins in Senate battlegrounds Colorado and Iowa came up short when a series of Democrats announced they are either not interested in a Senate contest or are seeking another office.

In Colorado, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and DSCC Chair Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) met with former Gov. John Hickenlooper (D-CO) in the hopes that they might convince him to challenge Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO), who is up for reelection in 2020.

Hickenlooper, who most expect will mount a presidential campaign, told Politico in Iowa over the weekend that he’s “not cut out to be a senator.” While most expected Hickenlooper to run for president, Senate Democrats were hoping he’d run for Senate should that presidential bid fall short. Given his remarks in Iowa, it seems highly unlikely that Hickenlooper would backtrack now.

Also in Colorado, Democrats had kept a close eye on former Colorado House Speaker Crisanta Duran. But she announced on Sunday that she plans to run a primary challenge to Rep. Diana DeGette, a Democrat who has served in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1997.

Two other Colorado Democrats, Andrew Romanoff and Mike Johnston, have both announced they will run in Colorado’s Senate Democratic primary for a chance to challenge Gardner.

In Iowa, Democrats’ top recruit, former Gov. Tom Vilsack (D-IA) announced on Friday that he would not challenge Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA). That announcement came just days after the Des Moines Registerreported that Ernst’s approval rating hit an all-time high in Iowa earlier this month.

Vilsack told the Des Moines Register he just couldn’t muster the commitment it would take to mount a campaign and argued doing so would be a disservice to his party, family, and himself.

“I’m confident there are going to be a lot of people stepping up that will have the commitment, the desire and the passion that it takes to win, and I just didn’t think I had it,” he reportedly said.